A 21-year-old man who previously admitted to raping a drunk teenaged girl has attempted to retract his guilty plea.

CNA reports that the man has also failed to pay his lawyers Marcus Tai and Roy Sze. Tai and Sze told the high court on Monday (Dec. 2) that they would be discharging themselves from the case.

The man cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order to protect the identity of the victim.

He initially pleaded guilty in October to raping a 15-year-old girl at the foot of  Block 557 on Pasir Ris Street 51.

Girl became drunk after game of 'Truth or Dare'

The incident occurred on Oct. 17, 2017, after the pair had been involved in a group game of "Truth or Dare".

The game had involved the consumption of alcohol and resulted in the girl becoming intoxicated.

The man then subsequently raped the girl with the help of his friend, who initially tried to as well but couldn't sustain an erection to do so.

Retracting plea, not paying lawyers

While the man was supposed to be sentenced on Monday, his defence lawyers said that they were informed that morning of his intention to retract his plea.

Tai was quoted by CNA as saying that the man "intends to appoint counsel for this purpose and to enter a defence subsequently".

Tai also said that the defence had "not been paid for this matter".

The court also heard that the accused had attempted to write a letter to the judge.

Guilty plea should stand

But The Straits Times reported that Deputy Public Prosecutor Winston Man argued that the contents of the letter did not amount to a defence, saying that the accused had "not satisfied the legal threshold" to convince Justice Audrey Lim to retract the plea.

He reportedly said that while the accused sought new lawyers, his guilty plea should remain.

According to CNA, Man added that all the safeguards had been observed during the initial plea, such as the accused repeatedly being asked if he understood his plea.

The judge granted the defence their request to discharge themselves, and also gave the accused one month to engage new lawyers.

She has not made a decision with respect to the status of the man's plea at the moment.

The accused had previously asked for an adjournment of his sentencing so that he could attend to his grandmother who was in poor health.

The penalty for rape is a maximum of 20 years' jail, a fine, or caning. The case of a second co-accused — the man's friend who had wanted to rape the victim as well — is pending.

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